Make My Case Count! Jessica Gonzales v. USA – IACHR Final Report

International Commission Finds United States Denied Justice to Domestic Violence Survivor
Jessica Gonzales v. USA – IACHR Final Report http://www.aclu.org/womens-rights/jessica-gonzales-v-usa-iachr-final-report

International Commission Finds United States Denied Justice to Domestic Violence Survivor http://www.aclu.org/womens-rights/international-commission-finds-united-states-denied-justice-domestic-violence-survivor

Amplify’d from www.aclu.org

My name is Jessica Lenahan and I am a survivor of domestic violence and an advocate for battered women and children. Six years ago, I turned to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), an international tribunal responsible for promoting and protecting human rights throughout the Americas, because the justice system in the United States had abandoned me. Today, IACHR issued a landmark decision in my case that found that the United States violated my human rights and those of my three children, Rebecca, Katheryn, and Leslie.

In 1999, my estranged husband, Simon Gonzales, kidnapped Rebecca, Katheryn, and Leslie in violation of a domestic violence restraining order I had obtained against him. I repeatedly contacted and pled with the Castle Rock Police in Colorado for assistance, but they refused to act. Instead, over a 10-hour period, the police responded to a fire-lane violation, looked for a lost dog and took a two-hour dinner break. Late that night, Simon arrived at the police station and opened fire. He was killed and the bodies of my three girls were found in the back of his truck. No investigation ever took place to determine the cause, time and place of my children’s death.

I sued the town of Castle Rock for failing to enforce the restraining order I held against my husband. My case went all the way to the Supreme Court, but they ruled that the enforcement of a restraining order wasn’t mandatory under Colorado law.

I felt utterly abandoned, but I wasn’t done fighting. Instead I turned to IACHR.

In a decision released today, the commission found that the U.S. is failing in its legal obligation to protect women and children from domestic violence, and makes clear that the U.S. government has a duty to protect domestic violence victims by taking steps to ensure their safety, including the enforcement of restraining orders. It also requires that the U.S. examine how it fails domestic violence victims and ensure that victims of domestic violence receive adequate protection from their abusers.

But this decision isn’t just about me.

In the United States, an estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year, and every day more than three women are killed by their intimate partners. These statistics reveal that domestic violence amounts to nothing less than an epidemic and the failure of police to enforce the law directly contributes to this epidemic. A 911 call to the police must mean something and the police can’t ignore multiple emergency calls throughout the course of the night as they did in my case.

I did everything I was supposed to do on that fateful night to protect and save my daughters. I even would have tried to rescue them myself had I known the police would do nothing to find them or to enforce my restraining order. We respect our laws because we believe they embody our government’s commitment to protecting our lives and the lives of our children. Unfortunately, I had to lose everything to realize that we are often not guaranteed basic protections from our government unless we demand them.

The IACHR decision can stimulate necessary changes in U.S. law and policy, if the U.S. government takes IACHR’s assessment of law enforcement’s failings seriously and implements its recommendations.

I hope my case will serve as an important precedent that other women can rely on when they find themselves in a similar situation where the police refuse to enforce a restraining order. I urge you to rely on it to speak out on the issue of domestic violence and to make sure that our government hears you.

You can learn more about the IACHR report, as well as my case and the process that led to my petition to the IACHR, here, here and here. Read more at www.aclu.org

 

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Mecklenburg judge faces hearing for misconduct

check out this video on another Mecklenburg judge http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gZ-1nLFdzE&playnext=1&list=PL9589C66FB7A5C3C1

Amplify’d from www.charlotteobserver.com

Mecklenburg District Judge John Totten, accused of misconduct while presiding over a drunken driving case, must appear at a disciplinary hearing in November before the N.C. Judicial Standards Commission.

The judge is accused of willful misconduct and violating the Code of Judicial Conduct by throwing out a drunken-driving defendant’s alcohol-test results in September 2010 so the defendant wouldn’t be punished as harshly as state law requires.

Totten has denied intentionally violating the judicial rules or engaging in misconduct. His disciplinary hearing is set for Nov. 10.

The commission must decide whether to recommend to the N.C. Supreme Court that Totten be censured, suspended or removed from the bench. It could also dismiss the charges.

Totten is accused by the Judicial Standards Commission of signing an order he knew or should have known was “false and misleading.” The order throwing out the alcohol test results allowed the DWI defendant to avoid having an interlock device installed on his car.

The device prevents convicted drunken drivers from starting their cars if they’ve been drinking. It is required for drivers whose alcohol level registered at .15 percent or more.

Why Totten threw out the key DWI evidence remains a mystery. The Judicial Standards Commission charges don’t say what might have motivated Totten or whether the judge knew the defendant. And in Totten’s formal response to the misconduct charges, the judge did not say why he did it.

It’s the second time Totten has been in trouble since his election to the bench in 2008. The 53-year-old judge, who is paid $109,372 a year, was suspended by Supreme Court Chief Justice Sarah Parker in March 2010 following complaints that he had made inappropriate remarks to court personnel.

In some of those remarks, sources have told the Observer, Totten recounted experiences at a bar and restaurant and described women’s bodies and how scantily they were dressed.

Totten was allowed to return to the bench in July 2010. He said in a statement that he regretted making “offensive” comments to his associates and that “my future conduct will be above reproach.”

Totten is the second Mecklenburg judge ordered to appear before the Judicial Standards Commission in two years.

In 2009, the commission recommended that District Judge Bill Belk be removed from the bench for misconduct.

Belk was accused of continuing to serve on the board of Sonic Automotive, one of the nation’s largest auto retailers, after his election to the bench in 2008.

The Code of Judicial Conduct prohibits judges from serving on boards of directors of businesses, to avoid conflicts of interest.

Belk resigned his judgeship a week before the commission recommended that he be removed from the bench. The Supreme Court in April 2010 banned Belk from ever returning to the bench, ruling that he had “demonstrated willful misconduct in office.”

Totten’s latest troubles stem from a DWI case he presided over on Sept. 24.

Glenmore Hopkins had pleaded guilty to DWI in Totten’s courtroom. The prosecutor then presented evidence supporting the charge, including that Hopkins had an alcohol level of .17 percent – more than twice the legal limit of .08. Totten sentenced Hopkins to 12 months of probation and ordered him to pay a $250 fine and perform 48 hours of community service. But after the sentencing, Totten took steps to minimize the punishment Hopkins would face, the Judicial Standards Commission alleges. The judge asked Hopkins’ attorney, David Lange, to approach the bench, according to the charges, and told Lange of his intent to set aside the state’s requirement for an interlock device on Hopkins’ vehicle. Totten told Lange to prepare an order suppressing the alcohol-test results, the commission alleges. When Lange returned to the courtroom about an hour later with the order, the judge signed it. In his formal response to the charges, Totten acknowledged that he told Lange he would sign an order to suppress Hopkins’ alcohol-test results. The judge also admitted that the prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Steven Hardgrave, had not been asked to participate in the conversation at the bench and wasn’t aware of what the judge and defense attorney were talking about. But Totten says both the defense lawyer and prosecutor were present at the bench when he signed the order. The judge said the prosecutor objected to the order. Totten’s order claimed that a motion to suppress the alcohol test level had been made in court and that the prosecutor and defense attorney had argued their positions before he decided to throw out the test results, according to the Judicial Standards Commission. But no such motion was made and no hearing was held, the commission alleges. The judge also has admitted that he did not know when he signed the order, but should have known, that it contained several inaccurate statements concerning the existence of a motion to suppress, a review of the evidence and arguments made by the defense attorney and prosecutor. Read more at www.charlotteobserver.com

 

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CSU Prof. Jailed 4 Days In Custody Battle Ex-Husband Accuses Catherine Keske Of Blocking Communication With Son

Insane that moms are being jailed for this bullshit

Amplify’d from www.thedenverchannel.com

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — A Colorado State University assistant agriculture professor was recently jailed on a contempt of court charge in a child-custody dispute. On Aug. 11, Jefferson County District Court Magistrate Chris Voisinet ordered Catherine Keske, 40, to serve 90 days in jail after her ex-husband, Jeffrey Handley, complained that Keske interfered with his ability to communicate with one of the couple’s sons by failing to provide the boy with his own cellphone and an unmonitored email account,Westword reported Monday. However, Keske only spent four days in jail, the newspaper reported. She said she was released after paying $1,700 that the court ruled she owed to Handley.

Catherine Keske, a CSU agriculture professor, was jailed for contempt of court in a child-custody dispute.

The arrest highlights the contentious divorce and custody battle between the parents, each of whom had custody of one of the sons, Westword reported. Keske, who specializes in environmental management issues, said she was confused by her arrest, the newspaper reported. The mother contends she has tried to encourage communication between Handley and the son in her custody and has records showing that the boy called his father once a week. “I was taken out of the courtroom in handcuffs, for reasons that aren’t clear to me,” she told Westword. But Handley’s attorney, Mechelle Faulk, said Keske is “the aggressor” — not the victim — in the long-running custody battle, according to Westword. Read more at www.thedenverchannel.com

 

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Alarming number of kids killed in domestic violence incidents in New York State in 2010

Mothers are not allowed to leave with their children.

Amplify’d from www.nydailynews.com

Domestic violence murders jumped 10% in New York last year.

ALBANY – Domestic violence murders jumped 10% in New York last year – and it’s kids who are increasingly getting caught in the cross hairs. A new report by the state Criminal Justice Services division determined 37 minors were killed in domestic violence incidents in the Empire State last year, up from 17 in 2009. And the jump appears to be largely city-centric, with 25 kids killed last year, compared with seven in 2009. “All of those trends are alarming,” said Michele McKeon, chief executive officer of the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The surge in children’s deaths drove the overall number of domestic violence deaths in the state to 144, including 77 that took place in the five boroughs, the report found. In 2009, domestic violence resulted in 131 deaths, down from 147 in 2008. The Daily News reported earlier this month that the total reported domestic violence cases in the city rose more than 12% last year. Attacks on women by “intimate partners” went up even more – 17.3%. Advocates blamed a combination of factors for the increases but pointed to a tough economy and funding cutbacks for prevention and awareness programs as key reasons. “The sense is that there are more and more requests for service, and certainly less services are available,” McKeon said. McKeon said state funding for domestic violence programs has dropped from just over $3 million three years ago to $510,000 now. “Unless we are talking about prevention, we are just putting Band-Aids on bullet holes,” McKeon said. Officials told reporters yesterday that the state is undertaking a number of steps to stem domestic violence, including new training programs for police officers. NYPD chief spokesman Paul Browne argued that last year’s figures were an anomaly, noting that so far this year homicides for children ages 9 through 17 are down 27% and that slayings of kids even younger are down 45%. One bright spot in the state report was a 19% drop last year in homicides committed by the victim’s “intimate partner” – 73, down from 90. The report also showed that 44% of adult female homicide victims in the state were killed by their husband, boyfriend or girlfriend. “That means the least safe place for a woman in New York State is her own home and that the person that’s most likely to kill that woman is a loved one,” said acting Criminal Justice Services Commissioner Sean Byrne Read more at www.nydailynews.com

 

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Protection order had been issued in murder-suicide case

Amplify’d from www.theindependent.com

The woman who was killed by her estranged husband on Monday had requested a protection order against him last week because he had threatened to take her life. Margarita Rodriguez, 43, of 212 N. Grace Ave. filed the request in Hall County District Court on Aug. 11. The protection order against Antonio G. Rodriguez, 33, of 4954 W. Highway 30 No. 1 was granted, and a hearing was set for 4 p.m. this Thursday. “Antonio came to the house where I am staying, and I am afraid for my life because in many occasions he has said he’s gonna kill me,” she wrote. “He has nothing to lose. He’s ill and receiving dialysis. He has hit me and there has been police reports, but the threats of killing has been done a lot.”

According to her description of his visit to the home, it occurred around midnight on Aug. 11. She also wrote that he told her she owed her life to him because, “thanks to him, I am legal in this country.” She wrote that her estranged husband, who was born in California, abused drugs and insulted and threatened her whenever he got drugs. She wrote that he used “dirty vocabulary and degrading words” to threaten her because she didn’t want to go back to him. Hall County sheriff’s Capt. Gregg Ahlers said the protection order was served on Antonio Rodriguez at 4:50 p.m. Aug. 11 at the trailer house where he was living. According to the protection order, he also frequented a mechanic shop at 420 St. Paul Suite 1. Margarita Rodriguez wrote that her estranged husband was 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighed 170 pounds. He was known to carry a rifle and use marijuana. The couple had two sons together, ages 8 and 9, according to the protection order. Marleny Hernandez, a friend of Margarita Rodriguez, told The Independent that the couple, whom she referred to as Margarita and Antony, were married in 2002, but their union soon became troubled. She said Margarita Rodriguez, who also had three children living in Mexico, had filed for divorce. She also said the Rodriguezes’ children were at home and asleep at the time of the shooting. No divorce proceedings involving the Rodriguezes had been filed in Hall County.

According to a press release from the Grand Island Police Department, officers were sent to 212 N. Grace on a report of a domestic disturbance at 4:57 a.m. Monday. Officers found Margarita Rodriguez in the entryway of 211 N. Grace with a gunshot wound to the head and left leg. She was transported to St. Francis Medical Center and was pronounced dead at 7:18 a.m. Monday. The investigation has revealed that shots were fired at 212 N. Grace and 211 N. Grace, according to the press release. At approximately 7:42 a.m. Monday, police began a pursuit of the suspect, Antonio Rodriguez. The pursuit began at Old Potash Highway and Diers Avenue and ended on Highway 281 between Highway 30 and Old Highway 30, according to the press release. Antonio Rodriguez died of a single self-inflicted gunshot wound. No other shots were fired, according to the release. Officer Butch Hurst said Rodriguez was driving a red Chevrolet pickup. He stopped “on his own” without the use of stop sticks by police, Hurst said. Highway 281 from Highway 30 to Old Potash Highway was blocked off from approximately 7:42 a.m. to 2:53 p.m. Monday, he said. The Police Department continued on Tuesday to investigate the death of Margarita Rodriguez. The death of Antonio Rodriguez was being investigated by agencies of the South Central Area Law Enforcement Services in preparation for a future grand jury, according to the Police Department’s press release. Nebraska law requires a grand jury to be called whenever someone dies in police custody or while being taken into custody. Although rather rare, a grand jury was convened within the last month in Hall County to hear the matter of an inmate death. In late July, a grand jury determined the death of Tomas Gonzalez, 23, at the Hall County Jail was an accident. According to court documents filed in district court on July 29, the grand jury found “there was no criminal conduct on the part of any individual that cause or contributed to” his death. Gonzalez died on June 9 after being transported to St. Francis Medical Center from the jail. He had been arrested on June 7 and charged with possession of methamphetamine. Michael Polk, an Omaha attorney representing Gonzalez’s family, said Gonzalez ingested meth when he was arrested. Read more at www.theindependent.com

 

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Phoenix police: 8-year-old witnesses mother’s death

Amplify’d from www.azcentral.com

An 8-year-old boy was most likely a witness to a murder-suicide Sunday night that took the life of his mother, according to Phoenix Police Department. When police responded to a call that came in Sunday night, officers found a woman who was apparently shot by her boyfriend. The man in his 20s then turned the gun on himself. The shooting occurred at an apartment home near 61st Avenue and Thomas Road. It appears that the couple was arguing before the incident, but investigators don’t know the reason. The boy, who was not physically injured, was being cared for by the Fire Department’s Crisis Response Team. Read more at www.azcentral.com

 

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Murdered Woman’s Husband Introduced Her To His Mistress

Amplify’d from gothamist.com

he story of the Pakistani woman allegedly killed by her husband and his mistress gets more depressing with news that the victim’s family and her husband’s family are fighting over custody of their young children. Nazish Noorani’s grieving sister, Lubna Choudhry, told reporters, “I should raise them because of [their] father killing my sister.” But murder suspect Kashif Parvaiz’s sister said of Noorani’s family, “They are all taking welfare. How will they take care of these kids? My father owns buildings and has income, and we will take care of them.” Noorani was fatally gunned down last Tuesday in Boonton, NJ while she, Parvaiz and their three-year-old son Shayaan were walking from her sister’s home to her parents’ home. Parvaiz was hit multiple times, while Shayaan was unharmed (though reportedly “splattered in blood”); five-year-old Riyaan was at Noorani’s parents’ home. Prosecutors say that Parvaiz had initially told police a group of men called them “terrorists” and used racial epithets but eventually admitted he plotted to kill his wife with another woman. Parvaiz was allegedly upset at Noorani for speaking negatively about his family. Parvaiz’s family has been watching the two boys. His mother took issue with Choudhry starting a website to raise money for the children, “She set up the Web site to support her own children,” and sister Zarren Hassan said to the Daily News, “We’re taking care of them because we love them. They’ve always been attached to my mother.” And Riyaan said, “I want to stay here.” In news related to her sister’s death and the apparent murder plot hatched by Parvaiz and mistress Antoinette Stephen, Choudry says that Parvaiz had been introducing Stephen as his “fiancee.” When Noorani confronted him, the Star-Ledger reports, “Kashif Parvaiz had a ready excuse, the [Noorani’s] said: He told his wife he was just pretending Stephen was his fiancée to get a family discount at Best Buy, where the 26-year-old woman worked.” Parvaiz claimed to have attended NYU, and Noorani’s family shared the photograph the ID he showed them (it was fake). Parvaiz also said he went to Columbia for graduate school and was attending another graduate program at Harvard. Neither school has records of him, but Parvaiz’s sister said they are sure he was at Harvard. Read more at gothamist.com

 

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FATHER accused of drowning his two children on the first day of school is in police custody

The bodies of boys, ages 3 and 5, were found in Naim Rasool Muhammad’s car at East Ledbetter and Singing Hills Drive.

Amplify’d from www.msnbc.msn.com

At 12:40 p.m., a 911 caller said her son had drowned her grandchildren. The caller told the fire department she had the children with her and was waiting for paramedics, according to officials.

Paramedics arrived and transported the children to Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, where they were pronounced dead.

Deputy Chief Craig Miller said Monday afternoon that investigators believe the children, 3-year-old Elijah Mohammed, and 5-year-old Naim Mohammed, were drowned. The children were found in the back of a silver station wagon.

Investigators are trying to determine where the children were killed.

“We [were] hoping for them to start school today and be with the rest of the kids and enjoy life, but someone ended their life shortly,” said Gabrielle Armstead, the children’s aunt.

Naim Muhammad, 32, was detained in the 6500 block of Lazy River Drive a few blocks from Singing Hills and Ledbetter after a foot pursuit and struggle with police. He was arrested in a creek bed near his home.

Muhammad has been charged with two counts of capital murder.

Police identified the children as Elijah and Naim Mohammed, but the father’s name is listed as Muhammad in court and jail records.

He was booked into Dallas County Jail at 6:51 p.m. Miller said Muhammad is cooperating with the investigation.

Police said Monday afternoon that Muhammad abducted the children and their mother while she was walking them to school at about 7:15 a.m. The mother was able to escape, police said.

The mother told police he had made threats against her and their children. She and Muhammad have three children, police said.

“I knew he was troubled, but I didn’t expect him to hurt his own kids,” Armstead said.

The children’s mother and Muhammad had recently separated. The mother and the children were living with her parents in Southeast Dallas.

Witnesses said Muhammad tried to break into their home later in the morning. A shattered window could be seen at the house.

The couple’s 1-year-old son was not home at the time.

The child is in the care of Child Protective Services. Relatives said the children’s mother feels as if she has lost all of her children.

Police said they are working with Child Protective Services to determine if there was any history of abuse.

“He did yell a lot and use the kids as a target, so he took the thing that was closest to her, and that was her boys,” Armstead said.

Relatives said the family got together on Saturday for a cookout to celebrate the children going to school. Muhammad and the children’s mother got into an argument, and he was asked to leave, the family said.

On Monday morning, Muhammad was wanted by police on suspicion of abducting two children while walking from their home on Terrell Street in South Dallas to Frazier Elementary School a few blocks away. The Dallas Independent School District confirms the children were enrolled, but said they never made it to class Monday.

On Monday morning, Muhammad was wanted by police on suspicion of abducting two children while walking from their home on Terrell Street in South Dallas to Frazier Elementary School a few blocks away. The Dallas Independent School District confirms the children were enrolled, but said they never made it to class Monday.

Police said the woman and her children were not at a school when they were taken.

The mother jumped out of the car in the 100 block of Camp Wisdom Road an d flagged down a Dallas County constable, who called Dallas police.

The constable did not chase Muhammad. She only served court papers, did not have red lights or a siren and is trained not to chase anyone.

Muhammad’s photo, right, was taken in February of this year. He has prior convictions for possession of marijuana, burglary of a vehicle, theft by check and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Muhammad is being held in the Dallas County Jail on $2 million bail.

Investigators said there was no legal reason the father could not have his children and were working to confirm that he made threats to the mother and the children before the children’s bodies were found.

Miller said Monday afternoon that officers knew they were looking for the children’s father. Officers were following every lead and did not have enough information to justify an Amber Alert, police said.

Dallas police said the children’s bodies were found before they could issue the Amber Alert they were planning on announcing at 1 p.m.

He was arrested in February on suspicion of punching the children’s mother. According to the police report, Muhammad grabbed their then 4-year-old son and left with him. Read more at www.msnbc.msn.com

 

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Lethal anger at home on rise

State report notes a 10 percent hike in slayings by family members

Amplify’d from www.timesunion.com

On Friday, with their young children at his parents’ house, the 51-year-old Saratoga County man strangled his wife, also 51, and then killed himself with a shotgun, according to police. His father discovered the bodies in the couple’s home on Military Road when he stopped by to pick up clothes for the Monacchios’ daughter, 11, and son, 15, Cynthia’s sister said.

“It’s the epitome of the word ‘tragedy,'” Patricia Voshell of Millington, Md., said Monday in a phone interview. “Their marriage was over. It was done, and my sister was ready to move on.”

Voshell spoke on the same day the state Division of Criminal Justice Services released a report showing that the number of household homicides committed by family members in New York rose 10 percent to 144 in 2010. They were among 862 homicides in the state, up from 782 in 2009, according to the report.

Police on Monday blamed “marital problems” for the horrific violence. An autopsy concluded that her husband choked his wife before shooting himself.

The Monacchios were married 15 years, and moved to Saratoga County several years ago, Voshnell said. Cynthia Monacchio grew up in Millington, Md., and attended college in Delaware. She worked as a bookkeeper for a recycling company, and her husband worked at a Target store, Voshnell said.

Voshnell suspects an argument may have sparked a moment of lethal anger. Robert Monacchio Jr. was not known as a violent person, she said, adding that they both loved their children but that their relationship was beyond repair.

“I’m angry at him for taking my sister from me, but I can’t say that I hate him,” Voshnell said. “They went at each other. It’s never black-and-white.”

“One or the other probably should have moved out, but they didn’t want to disrupt the kids,” Voshnell said. “Now, they are really disrupted.”

Friday’s murder-suicide marks at least the fourth incidence in five months of domestic violence fatalities. Last month, Douglas Cunningham, 52, shot his ex-wife, Kathleen Brados, 47, and then took his own life in their Lake George home. Also in July, Matthew Slocum, 23, fatally shot his mother, Lisa Coon Harrington, 44, stepfather Dan Harrington, 41, and stepbrother, Joshua O’Brien, 24, before setting their Washington County home ablaze, police said.

Last year in New York, homicides committed by intimate partners living together totaled 73, down 19 percent from the previous two years, according to the state’s 2010 Domestic Homicide Report. Women were at the greatest risk for violence at the hands of someone they knew: 62 of 141 — 44 percent — of the adult female homicide victims in the state in 2010 were killed by a partner, according to the report.

“Domestic violence is a serial crime,” said Sean Byrne, acting commissioner of the state Division of Criminal Justice Services. “We know who the offender is, who the victim is and where the crime is likely to occur, but we don’t know when.”

In March, James A. Barnes, 41, murdered his wife, Tonya E. Barnes, 40, at their home in Milton after a family dispute, police said. He then hanged himself.

DAY — Cynthia Monacchio no longer loved her husband, but stayed with him to help raise their children, her sister said. She also said Robert Monacchio Jr. didn’t want his wife to leave him and sought counseling to try to save the marriage.

Joint funeral services for the couple are tentatively scheduled to be conducted in Day at the end of the week. Read more at www.timesunion.com

 

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Las Vegas Foster Child Focus of International Custody Battle

Police in Nevada say an international custody battle has stalled over a 3-year-old girl who disappeared from a North Las Vegas foster home and ended up in Mexico.

Amplify’d from www.foxnews.com

North Las Vegas police Sgt. Tim Bedwell tells the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper that Carla Espinosa-Alvarez is a U.S. citizen and legal ward of Clark County.

He says the investigation stalled because detectives can’t talk with her mother.

The foster mother told police that a masked couple abducted the child at gunpoint May 8.

Police say the child’s biological mother told Mexican authorities she paid the foster mother to bring the girl across the border.

Officials say the girl was put in foster care last year after the mother went to Mexico but was denied entry back into the U.S. Read more at www.foxnews.com

 

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